“Mar Profundo” is the first marine laboratory built entirely in Portugal

The ship "Mar Profundo," the first vessel entirely manufactured in Portugal to support multidisciplinary research at sea, cast off its moorings and was launched on April 21.

The launch took place at the NAUTIBER – Estaleiros Navais do Guadiana Lda. shipyard in Vila Real de Santo António, where the vessel was designed from scratch. This ship will allow rapid access to the deep sea and will support the testing and validation of innovative technologies for maritime use, reducing the traditional costs of this type of mission. 

The "Deep Sea" is one of the facilities of TEC4SEA, a research infrastructure funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), included in the National Roadmap for Research Infrastructures of Strategic Interest (RNIE). It is a pioneering platform at European level dedicated to research, development, testing, and validation of technologies to boost the marine economy, operating mainly in the areas of robotics testing (autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles), communications, and advanced sensor technology.

This maritime laboratory represents an investment of €869,000. Its construction was financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Northern Regional Operational Program and by the FCT through national funds.